The average price of gasoline across South Central Ohio is 5 cents higher this week at $2.718 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

Amid refinery maintenance, gasoline stocks dropped by 700,000 barrels in the Great Lakes and Central region this week, squeezing total levels to 49.4 million according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). This is the lowest level of the year, and the decrease was one of the reasons three states in the region saw prices go up at the pump: Ohio (+11 cents), Michigan (+7 cents) and Indiana (+3 cents). These jumps mostly wiped up any decreases seen last week for these three states.

As previously reported, Memorial Day travel will set a record this year on the nation’s roadways. With inventory at an all-year low, motorists may see gas prices inch up this month, especially as refinery utilization remains under 90%.

This week’s average prices: South Central Ohio Average: $2.718

Average price during the week of May 13, 2019 $2.667

Average price during the week of May 21, 2018 $2.876

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:

$2.760 Athens

$2.746 Chillicothe

$2.592 Columbiana

$2.697 East Liverpool

$2.794 Gallipolis

$2.780 Hillsboro

$2.564 Ironton

$2.792 Jackson

$2.758 Logan

$2.634 Marietta

$2.668 Portsmouth

$2.746 Steubenville

$2.764 Washington Court House

$2.763 Waverly

On the National Front

Gas prices are as much as six cents cheaper in some states across the country on the week, which has pushed the national gas price average cheaper by a penny to $2.85 today. That average could have been even lower had a handful of Midwest states not seen prices increase by more than a nickel due to ongoing refinery maintenance. Compared to last month, today’s national average ($2.85) is cheaper by a penny and is seven cents cheaper year-over-year.

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, West Texas Intermediate dropped 11 cents to settle at $62.76. Crude prices increased last week due to rising global tensions that saw attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and on a Saudi Arabian oil pipeline. Those attacks only increased supply concerns that have been building due to the United States taking a tough line on sanctions against Iran and unrest in Venezuela and Libya leading to disruptions of supplies from those countries.

Crude prices will likely continue their ascent this week after OPEC and its partners met over the weekend to discuss compliance with the group’s 1.2 million b/d production reduction agreement that has been in place since January 2019. The group will formally decide if it will keep the agreement in place beyond June at next month’s meeting, but after this weekend’s compliance meeting, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said that there was consensus among participants to continue to drive down crude inventories for the remainder of the year.

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 80 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members. News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.